The unemployment rate of the United Kingdom was 4.6 percent in April 2025, an increase from the previous month. Before the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK had relatively low levels of unemployment, comparable with the mid-1970s. Between January 2000 and the most recent month, unemployment was highest in November 2011 when the unemployment rate hit 8.5 percent. Will unemployment continue to rise in 2025? Although low by historic standards, there has been a noticeable uptick in the UK's unemployment rate, with other labor market indicators also pointing to further loosening. In December 2024, the number of job vacancies in the UK, fell to its lowest level since May 2021, while payrolled employment declined by 47,000 compared with November. Whether this is a continuation of a broader cooling of the labor market since 2022, or a reaction to more recent economic developments, such as upcoming tax rises for employers, remains to be seen. Forecasts made in late 2024 suggest that the unemployment rate will remain relatively stable in 2025, averaging out at 4.1 percent, and falling again to four percent in 2026.
Demographics of the unemployed As of the third quarter of 2024, the unemployment rate for men was slightly higher than that of women, at 4.4 percent, compared to 4.1 percent. During the financial crisis at the end of the 2000s, the unemployment rate for women peaked at a quarterly rate of 7.7 percent, whereas for men, the rate was 9.1 percent. Unemployment is also heavily associated with age, and young people in general are far more vulnerable to unemployment than older age groups. In late 2011, for example, the unemployment rate for those aged between 16 and 24 reached 22.3 percent, compared with 8.2 percent for people aged 25 to 34, while older age groups had even lower peaks during this time.

Unemployment Rate in the United Kingdom increased to 4.60 percent in April from 4.50 percent in March of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

U.K. unemployment rate for 2024 was 4.11%, a 0.13% increase from 2023.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>U.K. unemployment rate for 2023 was <strong>3.98%</strong>, a <strong>0.25% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>U.K. unemployment rate for 2022 was <strong>3.73%</strong>, a <strong>1.1% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
<li>U.K. unemployment rate for 2021 was <strong>4.83%</strong>, a <strong>0.35% increase</strong> from 2020.</li>
</ul>Unemployment refers to the share of the labor force that is without work but available for and seeking employment.

Unemployment Rate in Canada decreased to 6.90 percent in June from 7 percent in May of 2025. This dataset provides - Canada Unemployment Rate - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

Evaluation of United Kingdom Engineering Strikes, 1920-1970 consists of detailed strikes information on individual member companies in the Engineering Employers' Federation (EEF) between 1920 and 1970. There are records on 10,944 individual strikes, covering 1,909 different member companies and 132 participating unions over 68 different engineering districts. The data comprise information on where and when the strike started, the duration in days (and where less than a day, hours), the company and unions involved, the number of people affected which includes both number of workers on strike and those made idle, and the reason for and the outcome of each strike. Monthly district-level unemployment rates, that match the EEF districts, are provided for the years 1960 to 1970. In addition there is a brief history of each union involved and information on mergers of unions through time into larger amalgams.


Main Topics:

Information covered includes:

• a company identifier
• the union(s) involved
• the engineering district in which the strike occurred
• the cause of the strikes (delineated by pay and non-pay related)
• the start year, month and day plus duration in days (or hours)
• the outcome or strike resolution (divided into successful and unsuccessful strikes)
• the numbers of strikers (by men, women and boys)
• job descriptions of workers involved
• the number of non-strikers made idle by the strike

The statistic depicts the median age of the population in the United Kingdom from 1950 to 2100*. The median age of a population is an index that divides the population into two equal groups: half of the population is older than the median age and the other half younger. In 2020, the median age of United Kingdom's population was 39.2 years. Population of the United Kingdom The United Kingdom (UK) includes Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) and Northern Ireland, and is a state located off the coast of continental Europe. The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, which means the Queen acts as representative head of state, while laws and constitutional issues are discussed and passed by a parliament. The total UK population figures have been steadily increasing, albeit only slightly, over the last decade; in 2011, the population growth rate was lower than in the previous year for the first time in eight years. Like many other countries, the UK and its economy were severely affected by the economic crisis in 2009. Since then, the unemployment rate has doubled and is only recovering slowly. UK inhabitants tend to move to the cities to find work and better living conditions; urbanization in the United Kingdom has been on the rise. At the same time, population density in the United Kingdom has been increasing due to several factors, for example, the rising number of inhabitants and their life expectancy at birth, an increasing fertility rate, and a very low number of emigrants. In fact, the United Kingdom is now among the 20 countries with the highest life expectancy at birth worldwide. As can be seen above, the median age of UK residents has also been increasing significantly since the seventies; another indicator for a well-working economy and society.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) is a longitudinal birth cohort study, following a nationally representative sample of over 17,000 people born in England, Scotland and Wales in a single week of 1970. Cohort members have been surveyed throughout their childhood and adult lives, mapping their individual trajectories and creating a unique resource for researchers. It is one of very few longitudinal studies following people of this generation anywhere in the world.

Since 1970, cohort members have been surveyed at ages 5, 10, 16, 26, 30, 34, 38, 42, 46, and 51. Featuring a range of objective measures and rich self-reported data, BCS70 covers an incredible amount of ground and can be used in research on many topics. Evidence from BCS70 has illuminated important issues for our society across five decades. Key findings include how reading for pleasure matters for children's cognitive development, why grammar schools have not reduced social inequalities, and how childhood experiences can impact on mental health in mid-life. Every day researchers from across the scientific community are using this important study to make new connections and discoveries.

BCS70 is run by the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS), a research centre in the UCL Institute of Education, which is part of University College London. The content of BCS70 studies, including questions, topics and variables can be explored via the CLOSER Discovery website.

How to access genetic and/or bio-medical sample data from a range of longitudinal surveys:
For information on how to access biomedical data from BCS70 that are not held at the UKDS, see the CLS Genetic data and biological samples webpage.

Secure Access datasets
Secure Access versions of BCS70 have more restrictive access conditions than versions available under the standard End User Licence (EUL).

The 1970 British Cohort Study: Sweeps 3-9, 1980-2012, Townsend Index (LSOA) Linked Data: Secure Access study includes the Towsend Index of Deprivation data for Sweeps 3-9 of the BCS70, as well as the variables needed to construct these.

International Data Access Network (IDAN)
These data are now available to researchers based outside the UK. Selected UKDS SecureLab/controlled datasets from the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) and the Centre for Longitudinal Studies (CLS) have been made available under the International Data Access Network (IDAN) scheme, via a Safe Room access point at one of the UKDS IDAN partners. Prospective users should read the UKDS SecureLab application guide for non-ONS data for researchers outside of the UK via Safe Room Remote Desktop Access. Further details about the IDAN scheme can be found on the UKDS International Data Access Network webpage and on the IDAN website.
For the second edition (April 2023), the Sweep 3,1980 data file has been updated to remove duplication errors in the BCSID variable.

Main Topics:

The Townsend Index of Deprivation is comprised of four Census variables:

• Unemployment: unemployed residents over 16 as a percentage of all economically active residents aged over 16
• No car access: residents in households with no car as a percentage of all residents in households
• Non-home ownership: households not owning their own home as a percentage of all households
• Household overcrowding: households with 1+ persons per room as a percentage of all households

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) began in 1970 when data were collected about the births and families of babies born in the United Kingdom in one particular week in 1970. Since then, there have been nine further full data collection exercises in order to monitor the cohort members' health, education, social and economic circumstances. These took place when respondents were aged 5 in 1975, aged 10 in 1980, aged 16 in 1986, aged 26 in 1996, aged 30 in 1999-2000 (SN 5558), aged 34 in 2004-2005, aged 42 in 2012, aged 46 in 2016-2018 and aged 51 in 2021-2024. A range of sub-studies has also been conducted, including SN 4715, 1970 British Cohort Study: Age 21 Sample Survey, 1992 and SN 7064, 1970 British Cohort Study: Age 10, Sweep 3 Special Needs Survey, 1980.

Further information about the BCS70 and may be found on the Centre for Longitudinal Studies website. As well as BCS70, the CLS now also conducts the NCDS series.

The 1970 British Cohort Study: Age 21 Sample Survey, 1992 was the fourth sample follow-up of the 1970 BCS cohort. It focused principally on: youth training; full-time education; post-school vocational qualifications; unemployment; current or most recent employment; literacy and numeracy.


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The survey comprised four sections: the main interview, a set of literacy and numeracy assessments and two self-completion questionnaires ('Your Life Since 1986' and 'Your Views').
The interview covered qualifications, training, current employment, unemployment, reading and writing behaviour, literacy and numeracy self-appraisal, household composition, relationships, children, housing, income and health.

The literacy and numeracy assessments comprised a series of 17 tasks using showcards, to assess reading, writing, comprehension and simple mathematical skills.
Self-completion: the 'Your Life Since 1986' questionnaire covered employment and education histories since 1986, and 'Your Views' gathered information on attitudes to employment, education, literacy, numeracy, self-efficacy, health and opinion of respondent's life so far.

Standard Measures
Malaise Inventory: a measure for the assessment of psychiatric morbidity, developed by Rutter and others at the Institute of Psychiatry from the Cornell Medical index. Full references: